REVIEW – Finding Faith by Tabatha Vargo

One night. That’s all Finn had with the only girl he ever loved. Years later, all he has left of that night is a silver cross, a broken give a damn, and the unrelenting desire to drink her memory away. As the lead singer of Blow Hole, Finn has his pick of women, but none are able to squash the need he still carries around for Faith. To hate her offers some relief, but when Finn sees her again after so many years, it’s hard to despise her. Especially when every reason he had to hate her, turn out to be lies.

As the daughter of a strict Baptist preacher, Faith Warren lived sheltered from all things sinful. When she met Jimmy Finn, the epitome of all seven deadly sins, she found out exactly what she was missing. After being forced to choose between her soul and the only person in the world who made her feel alive, Faith walked away from Finn and dove head first into her father’s preferred life. But now Finn’s back and he’s getting payback by wreaking havoc on her emotions. Except sometimes bad things feel good, and Faith has to decide once again if she wants to stay in her gilded cage or fly free with the dark angel of lust himself.

Finding Faith is a sweet, second chance romance with just the right amount of angst, making it a fantastic addition to the Blow Hole Boys Series. Tabatha Vargo perfectly captures the emotional rollercoaster of first love and the devastating heartache of losing it with this enchanting story. I’m a huge fan of when opposites attract so I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Finn and Faith. Faith is the innocent, religious good girl to Finn’s delinquent from the wrong side of the tracks character and the dynamic that evolved from their upbringings was enthralling. Faith’s shyness and Finn’s cocky attitude leant itself to plenty of fun banter, blush-worthy flirtations, and palpable tension. Tabatha Vargo not only sparked a great chemistry between these two, but also highlighted a deeper connection that demanded to be explored. I enjoyed seeing Finn before the events of Playing Patience. Getting to know him before his role in the previous novel was definitely intriguing and only made me love him more. Based on what I already knew of him prior to this book, Finn’s story was certainly unexpected but incredibly touching, leaving me no choice but to fall head over heels for this sinner. Tabatha Vargo writes with a voice that is fresh, bold, and full of feeling, bringing Finding Faith to life and ensuring my total investment in Finn and Faith’s emotional journey.

“If it looks like an angel and talks like an angel, then it must be an angel.”

Finn definitely makes for a swoon-worthy BBF. His easy confidence and bad boy persona caught my eye while his total reverence of and respect for Faith thoroughly hooked me. Finn was genuinely flawed which most of the time, endeared him to me. However, I’ll admit that there were times when his behavior was hard to take. He made me cringe on more than one occasion with his downright cruel behavior, but when the error of his ways became glaringly obvious, his remorse was so genuine that I couldn’t help but forgive him. Having been damaged by the hand life had dealt him, Finn had every reason to be jaded and act out but in Faith he saw hope for a better future. The change Tabatha Vargo orchestrates in this character as his relationship with Faith progressed was absolutely heartwarming and I found myself grinning at the stark contrast between Finn’s life before and after finding Faith. She was his breath of fresh air and it showed in every aspect of his character over the course of their journey. Faith was easy to love. Having grown up sheltered and under her father’s strict control, I enjoyed the moments with Finn where she was free to be herself. My heart broke for Faith at the way some aspects of her life unfolded, but I absolutely adored the strength and ferocity that Tabatha Vargo brought out in her over time. She was lovable, relatable, and easy to root for.

“He might be a full-blown sinner, but his eyes were made of heaven and when he looked at me, there was warmth that I’d never known.”

One of the things that struck me about this novel was the pacing. The first part of Finn and Faith’s story focuses on their time together as teenagers. The book moves slowly, building the history between the couple and capturing every nuance of their developing feelings. The reading experience very much embodied the deep, measured burn of first love and despite the lack of quick action, I found myself captivated by the relationship that Tabatha Vargo was building between Finn and Faith. The second part of their story seems to move at a much faster speed, everything between our couple happening almost instantly. The change in pacing definitely expressed the sudden and overwhelming return of all of Finn and Faith’s conflicting emotions, raising the stakes and the level of intensity in this part of their story. In my opinion, Tabatha Vargo did wrap up the novel rather quickly and I would have preferred more time being spent on developing Finn and Faith’s new dynamic at the end of the book, however the ending was still plenty satisfying. All in all, Tabatha Vargo delivers an incredibly heartfelt story with Finding Faith – a beautiful reminder that love is always worth fighting for.